Our continuing story
by MISCrasyaboutfanfics
Summary: This is what happened when Peaches and Sideways had their fourth child Silver Dollar and fostered a human boy 2 years older than Aaron and everything else that comes with their unusual family...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I only own any OCs in here, not the Transformers.

When she had woken up this morning, Peaches remembered something. Not only had she and Sideways spark bonded last night but the Pretender had recalled how Elita One had explained how Cybertronian intimacy worked and how their species' reproduction occured …

(Flashback, 2010)

She had only been on base 2 days and thus had trouble finding her way around there. Peaches had to get that report to Prowl, where was his office again? The femme transformed into her human mode, still carrying the data pad. Maybe she could ask somebody for help.

Peaches went down the hall and saw where Optimus Prime's quarters were; should she interrupt him? No, probably not but she needed help getting to where she was going. She opened the door part of the way, then quickly shut it and ran another direction, finally finding Prowl's office. She quickly handed him the report, then ran into her own quarters for her break…

Sometime later, Elita and Optimus were looking for Peaches. "Prime, I can't believe it" Elita started to say, slightly angry.

"I am sure that she did not walk in on us intentionally." He reassured her. "I believe it is time that she learned about this anyway as soon she'll be out of her youngling years."

Soon, the Pretender walked up to them. She was now in her robot mode as she said the following, trying not to cry over it but not being able to help being so sensitive. "I'm sorry about earlier; I wanted to ask Prime for help finding Prowl's office since I'm still learning where everything is and when I saw what was going on, I ran off because I knew I shouldn't have interrupted that. I didn't even know Autobots had an equivalent to the ways that humans express their love for each other! I didn't do it on purpose."

Elita One could no longer be angry with the younger femme. "It's all right sweetspark; you'll be able to remember where everything is once you've been here longer and we both forgive you for your unintentional intrusion on our private time." The former said gently.

"As long as you remember not to interrupt us unless the base is under attack, you will be fine." Optimus Prime added. "Since you did not break any rules intentionally, I will not punish you however, it is about time that you learned about this as you may experience it yourself one day and you are old enough; ordinarily, we'd ask your creators to do so but as it is, Elita will have to explain it."

The femme commander then led Peaches to another room that wasn't used for anything and shut the door behind them. Both sat down on the chairs and the latter looked as though she was slowly overcoming her shame.

"Peaches, you are aware that every part of the human body that is your alt mode is false, correct?" Elita asked.

"Yes, I'm aware of that." Peaches replied. "What I don't get is why Transformers would have parts similar to those."

"That's not quite the case my friend; Cybertronians do not sexually reproduce as humans do." Elita One tried her best to keep her composure as she explained everything. Well, it was at least the basics about how Cybertronians expressed their affections for each other and how sparklings were built.

The orange and red Autobot trainee seemed more relaxed but still worried. "What if I don't find a mech of my own? I mean, I can deal with being single my whole life if that's what's meant to happen."

"Your spark will only call out to one specific mech and you will know if he's the one." Elita reassured Peaches. "When you do become spark bonded with another and have your own 'alone time' with him, you will understand how pleasing and amazing it is when Optimus and I have it together."

(End flashback)

She was right, the Pretender thought smiling. She then stretched out and got up, the ex-Decepticon who was her sparkmate soon following her.

Peaches and Sideways both went to get breakfast ready for Aaron, Abby and Crystal. After the kids had eaten, Aaron went to play outside with Snowball, who was barking and scratching at the door. Crystal and Abby on the other hand wanted "Mommy and Daddy" to put on _Dora the Explorer_ and watch it with them.

The ex-Decepticon sighed. "All right; we'll put it on the TV for you."

As the 2 toddlers watched the show, he and the Pretender smiled, knowing that everything was going well. It had been hard to believe that Peaches had been so nervous and scared of the physical things that came with a romantic relationship since she was now feeling like she had nothing to hide and her trust in her mate had been firmly cemented long before what had happened the previous night.

Later Peaches took Abby and Crystal outside to play with Aaron while Sideways had gone to buy a plastic sandbox with a cover as well as sand, plastic shovels and plastic pails. Snowball was lying in the shade of a tree, not interested in what was going on. The Pretender smiled; her life was not perfect, just pretty close to it for the most part.

"Oh Peaches." Someone said seductively.

The orange and red femme turned around and saw Sideways; he had already put the sandbox down, filled it with sand and put the lid on it as the kids did not want to play with it now. He began lightly tickling Peaches' midsection.

"No, stop it…please…" She began laughing as she fell onto the ground. That only made him tickle her more.

"It's not like I'm doing anything the kids aren't allowed to see." The ex-Decepticon pointed out.

"Daddy's tickling Mommy!" Abby said, as though this was something to be proud of.

"I get tickle too?" Crystal asked.

"Okay you two." Peaches got out of her mate's arms and began lightly tickling both of her daughters.

Aaron on the other hand insisted that he was not ticklish which Sideways quickly proved wrong.

"Dad… please stop doing that…" the human boy started laughing.

Soon everyone was tickling each other, save Snowball who stared at the goings on with a "WTF" look on her face.

After a few more minutes of this, Peaches said "Okay that's enough now who wants to play in the sand?"

"I do!" Abby replied.

She was playing with Aaron in a few minutes while Crystal played with a ball. Thankfully, Sideways had put a fence around their backyard to keep the kids within their sights at all times but nevertheless, both parents kept an optic on their kids, and one on each other.

Peaches gently rubbed her sparkmate's shoulders and then embraced him; Sideways accepted this and gave her a kiss. He broke the kiss and then asked "So my Peach Ice Cream is your day going well?"

"Very well; I have the children, the dog, and you." She replied sweetly. "Except for one thing that's been bothering me. I am concerned about what we will do if one of the kids walks in on us during our, ahem, 'special alone time'."

"We will worry about that if and when that happens; for now, let's enjoy this day." Sideways told her, as he began running his hands down her back lightly and making his sparkmate smile.

Indeed they did enjoy it even if it wasn't as exciting as last night had been. Peaches wrote about the previous night in her personal log though, as the first time doing something like what she and Sideways had done was unforgettable...

It had been over 3 months since they had first moved into a place of their own and Aaron was finally starting school. Peaches personally thought it would be good for him to be around other humans besides his younger sister and Sideways was inclined to agree. They saw him off to the bus stop and Peaches stayed until the boy had gotten onto the bus and it was out of site.

The 2 then took Abby and Crystal back inside as it would start raining soon and they could not play outside today. When they had shut the front door, Peaches sat down on the sofa with the first of the 2 youngest kids of hers. "Well, looks like we're not taking your brother to the playground with us later; what do you want to do?"

"Story!" Crystal shouted.

Sideways gave his sparkmate the small sparkling and volunteered to do the chores. Ordinarily, it was Peaches and Aaron who did the housework so this was a bit of a surprise to the Pretender. She still let him do it; it would be a big help after all. She couldn't help but wonder though was something horrible going to happen since this was out of the ordinary?

(Later that evening)

It was dinner time and Peaches had cooked macaroni and cheese for Abby and Aaron and had gotten energon for herself, Crystal and Sideways when she had gotten a comlink message.

"Peaches, this is Optimus Prime please respond"

"Yes sir what do you need" Peaches replied.

"Most of the human soldiers on NEST base have been recovering from a virus that's been spreading around and Colonel Lennox and I need another Autobot to go on a mission we have as the others are all busy with other things." The Autobot leader explained over the comlink. "Will you be able to come and assist it? You will be away from home for a short time."

"I can; Sideways can handle the kids." She said. "I'll tell them what's going on."

"Thank you Peaches; Elita will come and get you in the morning. Optimus Prime out."

The orange and red femme sighed. "Kids, Sideways, Optimus needs me for a mission and I'm leaving tomorrow."

"You're going away Mommy?" Crystal asked, disbelieving the whole thing.

"No!" Abby added.

"Just for the rest of this week and then I'll be home." Peaches explained.

Sideways couldn't believe this; he had waited so long to get some time alone with her again as the last few months had involved massive amounts of paperwork in order to possibly become foster parents, Abby getting more of her teeth, Crystal occasionally getting a temper tantrum but no one ever giving in to what she wanted and just plain stress. He sighed sadly but was willing to let his sparkmate do her job. She was still a NEST member after all.

"Do what you have to do Peach; we'll be fine waiting for you." He said.

"I know; I just hope you're right." Peaches then embraced and kissed him. "I'm not leaving until tomorrow but I'd rather just rest tonight if that's okay with you."

The ex-Decepticon agreed to this; he was very understanding albeit disappointed with everything that was happening but they would manage. They always did…


	2. Chapter 2

Wanting and needing you

Peaches left the next morning, just before Aaron had to go to school. She assured him that it would be fine as Optimus, Elita and First Aid would be there with her. She then hugged Abby and Crystal, hugged and kissed Sideways and then transformed into her human form just as Elita One pulled up in her vehicle mode.

When the femme commander and the Pretender were gone, Sideways took both of his daughters into the backyard to play with Snowball (with Crystal saying "Play with doggy!") and began watching them and waiting for Saturday, when his sparkmate would return…

(2 days later)

Optimus Prime, First Aid, Elita One and Peaches as well as Colonel Lennox and about 20 or so odd humans were on this mission to Oregon but as of now, were resting except for the Autobot commander himself as he was keeping watch. He had not yet seen the 2 Decepticons reported to be in the area but was taking no chances.

Peach also wasn't taking any chances, in this case with letting her feelings out. She was trying to settle down to go to sleep in a tent in her human form but couldn't stop thinking about Sideways or the rest of her family. She then got up, figuring if she was going to be awake she may as well take a walk and try to clear her processor.

The orange and red femme crawled out of the tent and then stood up and started walking, not really sure of the direction in which she was going.

"Peaches what are you doing out here?" Elita One asked. She had been recharging in her alt mode when the Pretender had walked by and had heard the fake "heart" that the latter had beating fast.

How was she going to explain this? Peaches stopped walking and transformed into robot mode, the femme who had been her mother figure doing the same. The Pretender then said "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Elita, I just miss them all so badly and I keep thinking about Sideways the most." Peaches had tears streaming down her face.

Elita One let her adopted daughter cry on her shoulders and said "There, there young one. It is merely your spark calling for Sideways as you haven't had the time to spend that 'special alone time' with him."

Peaches hated using that euphemism around her kids and everyone else but it was the best one that she could come up with. "I feel like it's draining away all of my energy but at the same time I can't recharge." She admitted.

"You haven't been bonded with him very long hence you are not used to something like that happening to you." The older femme explained "In time, your frame will upgrade and adapt to it; First Aid can explain it better than I can."

First Aid and Optimus had now come to see what the trouble was; the medic led the younger femme away to explain that what she was feeling was perfectly normal while the Autobot leader asked his sparkmate what had happened. Once it had been explained to him, he smiled knowingly. "I am sure that she and Sideways will be fine once they have been bonded longer."

"Indeed they will Optimus; I remember when we were getting used to it." Elita said, getting nostalgic.

Optimus Prime smiled and while continuing to keep watch for the enemy, also kept an optic on his sparkmate….

Sideways had gotten up; it was about 3:00 a.m. on Friday morning, 4 hours before he had to wake Aaron up for school and all of the children were still resting.

"Peach, I can't believe it won't be until tonight or Saturday that I see you again." He said out loud. "The kids are okay, so is Snowball hence why I'm only worrying about you."

The ex-Decepticon then wrote down his feelings in his personal log, as a way of passing the time before he had to change focus and worry about the 2 humans and 1 sparkling of his…

(Later that day, Aaron's POV)

It wasn't that he hated being in school; it was just that Aaron could not stand not being able to tell his mother how his day went. He had only told his father about that this week and of course his younger sisters although they did not understand. The blonde haired boy sat at his desk, working on math problems. It was nearly the end of the day anyhow and his mom would be home the next day so he felt slightly better than he had earlier in the week but not by much.

The bell rang and Aaron rushed out the door with the other kids to the waiting school bus; he then got a seat near the front so that he could get off in a shorter amount of time when he got to the bus stop closest to his home. He heard the other boys, laughing and joking about his family as the bus started moving.

"Dude, I bet his mom-"

One of the kids, DJ, had said something that was very far from the truth. "My mom is not like that." Aaron said to himself. He didn't even know what the swear word meant but knew enough to know not to repeat it…

Aaron finally got off the bus and went inside the warehouse; his sisters were napping and his father had just come back from taking a drive. "Hey Dad, is Mom back yet?"

"Not yet" Sideways replied. "She should be back either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Anyways, how was school?"

"It was fine; it was coming home that was horrible." The blond haired boy admitted.

"What happened?" The ex-Decepticon soon wished he didn't know; that kid had called Peaches a "slut".

"I don't know what it is." Aaron admitted.

"And it's better that you don't; we know your mother very well and she is definitely not that" Sideways stated firmly as he tried his best to keep his cool. "Did they say anything else?"

"Just that I was weird and that I could never be a regular kid." The boy said.

"There's always more than one way of defining 'regular'. Just ignore them since you know both of those things are not true." Sideways gave him a hug. "You will be the better person for doing that."

Soon, the sound of Abby and Crystal crying filled the warehouse. "Looks like we should keep your sisters busy" the dark colored mech stated.

Aaron then went with his father down the hallway, forgetting about the whole thing although Sideways wasn't trying to forget how impatient he was when it came to waiting for Peaches. Still, he had to change his focus; he could not just ignore the kids.

(Early Saturday morning, about 3:00 am)

The mission had been successful hence Peaches could finally go home to her family. Elita was driving her there and trying to reassure her that Sideways had tried his best to wait for her.

"I know." The Pretender said. "Thanks for the ride again."

"You are very welcome Peaches." Elita One replied as she pulled up to the warehouse.

The normally orange and red femme got out, transformed into her robot mode, bid the femme commander good night, and then walked inside as soon as Elita was out of site. Peaches walked into the dark hallways, the hum of her spark getting louder and the desire to hold Sideways getting stronger. She opened the door to their quarters and tiptoed over to the berth. She then rubbed her sparkmate's shoulders, determined to wake him up.

Sideways did wake up and smiled. "I know this isn't a dream now."

"I'm home my turncoat; I'm not going on another mission for a long time." Peaches told him, as she climbed onto the berth next to him.

"Welcome home my Peach Ice Cream." The ex-Decepticon said, as he began to gently stroke her cheek with one finger. "You know I am really tempted to go for another round of 'special alone time'."

"I am as well, despite it being 3:00 am in the morning." The Pretender replied. "I want another sparkling so badly and I don't know why."

"I think you deserve it after working so hard and what you've been through this year." Sideways wrapped his arms around the orange and red femme, and kissed her.

"Well, let's go for it." Peaches smiled. This was going to be good…


	3. Chapter 3

Guess what kids?

(Peaches' POV 1st person)

Sideways began running his hands over various places on me and making me shudder but unlike the first time, I was not scared nor was he. We began getting intimate once again and I was so caught up in it that I did not realize that what time it was until it was all over.

"That's the best thing I've done at 3:00 a.m. besides recharge." I told my sparkmate.

"I agree my femme." He replied. "It's actually 4:00 a.m. right now."

I then realized that I had just been letting out all of my feelings and that I wasn't thinking of anything else. Of course, if the security alarms had gone off or one of the kids had started screaming from a nightmare we would have stopped and seen what the trouble was. As that did not happen, I had just been enjoying the moment; I had Sideways physically close to me, his assuring me that everything was fine now that my mission was over maybe not in words but in his comforting embrace, and everything being as close to perfect as it could get in this world. Although like the first time we did not cry, we still thought the whole thing was beautiful and couldn't help but smile at each other through the whole thing.

Now that it was all over, we finally went into recharge. Aaron could cook Pop Tarts in the toaster for himself and his sisters if they got up before we did so we were not worried about that. What I was slightly worried about was telling the kids they were going to have a new sibling.

(Switch to 1st person POV Sideways)

At about 11:00 a.m. Peaches and I came out of recharge. She found that she could not transform and said "I think we were successful."

I hugged her and couldn't help but smile. "Do you want me to contact Ratchet or do you want to?"

"Sideways, I'll call him." Peaches went to do so and I got the kids' breakfast ready while struggling to maintain my own excitement and worries.

"Daddy what's wrong?" Abby asked.

"Nothing sweetie; something good might be happening soon." I told her.

"What is it?" Aaron asked.

"You'll find out." I replied, trying to keep it as mysterious as possible.

Ratchet did arrive and announce that yes, Peaches was carrying. I knew that the way we created Crystal was different but that was because we were in the midst of a war; now that it was peacetime, it was all right that we used another method that had not been used often by other Cybertronians due to the risks involved.

"That's good." I sighed with relief.

"This time around, Peaches is also going to need a lot of rest and refueling; you can transfer some of your energon to her if necessary since Crystal is still growing and will need a lot of it as well." Ratchet told me. "Also, when next Friday comes, she can ride in Optimus Prime's trailer since she won't be able to transform until the new spark is placed in one of the protoforms that we have."

Peaches was very embarrassed when Ratchet said this. "I guess I won't mind that much." She muttered.

"It's all right Peaches." The Autobot medic told her. "Optimus will be careful with you when driving. Also, both of you when you come to the base on Friday, bring your other young ones for their checkups, is that clear?"

"Yes sir." We both replied.

Ratchet soon left to tell the other Autobots the news and I brought the kids back into the living room so that Peaches and I could tell all of them about it.

Crystal and Abby cheered "yay!" whereas Aaron simply asked "Is it a boy or girl?"

"We won't know until next week." Peaches explained and then she yawned.

"Mommy's sleepy right?" Abby asked.

"Yes, and she needs dinner too." I replied.

We all went into the kitchen and I got energon for Peaches, Crystal and myself and cooked chicken nuggets in the microwave for Aaron and Abby. When everyone was done eating, I got the kids ready for bed while Peaches retreated to our quarters early. When all 3 kids were asleep and Snowball let in and fed, I went into said quarters.

'You know, Peach, you haven't gotten washed off well in a while." I told her, helping her to her feet and leading her to the washracks.

"I know." Peaches replied, and then yawned again. "Don't think I can tonight though."

"Easy love I'll help you." I told her as she slumped against the wall and I turned the water on. I then gently moved her under the shower head and took the cleaning fluids and began washing my sparkmate. Sure it took a while but I knew that our water bill wouldn't be that much higher than it was last month.

I scrubbed Peaches gently top to bottom, playing dirty when washing certain parts of her off such as her breastplate. She didn't seem to mind that though.

"Oh Sides, that feels so good." She moaned.

4 minutes later I rinsed Peaches off and said "Take it easy; I'll wash myself and be out in a few minutes."

The Pretender that I couldn't live without nodded and then went to dry herself off. I washed, rinsed, repeated and then turned the water off. When I was dry, I gave Peaches another energon cube as I knew she wasn't the only one who needed the energy. I then helped her onto the berth, then got on myself and pulled a blanket over both of us.

"Thanks love." She said weakly.

I embraced her and said "you're welcome now let's get some rest. We've got a long week ahead of us you know."

Things didn't go quite perfectly the next few days as we would find out later on but at the time, I was stupid enough to think that they would…


	4. Chapter 4

Our continuing story chapter 4

(Peaches' POV)

Sunday and Monday were both uneventful as I spent most of the time resting or refueling while Aaron and Sideways took care of the chores and Abby and Crystal. It was on Tuesday evening when we all went to walk in the woods behind our home (with Aaron holding Snowball's leash) that we discovered Tyler-well, it was Aaron and Snowball that found him anyways. He was a brunette, was wearing a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers, and had been seriously injured but we did not know at the time whether it was child abuse or something else that had caused said injuries. I gave Aaron my phone and told him to call 911 while Sideways tried to convince Tyler that we were not going to hurt him.

The police and EMS arrived within less than 5 minutes and we explained to the former what we had seen while the latter took Tyler to the nearest hospital to be treated for his injuries. We were finally allowed to walk back to the house while Sideways drove to the hospital to ensure that boy's safety. When the rest of us were inside, Aaron fed Snowball and Abby and Crystal were visibly scared and needed to be calmed down.

"Mom, is that kid going to be all right?" Aaron asked as he started making hash browns in the microwave for himself and Abby.

"I don't know; let's hope your father can tell us." I replied, not sure myself. I yawned again.

Soon Sideways returned with the news.

"How is he?" Abby asked.

"Well, he will be fine right now." My sparkmate replied reassuring her. "His name is Tyler and there's suspicion that his injuries resulted from abuse."

"There is going to be hell to pay" I started to comment angrily, having heard more than enough stories about child abuse in my life time.

"No say bad word!" Crystal interrupted me.

"I'm sorry Crystal." I gave all 3 of the kids a hug and petted Snowball.

Sideways then gave me another hug and said "The only thing we can do is hope this works out. "

"I know-let's talk about this after the kids are asleep." I replied.

When the kids were recharging/sleeping and Snowball let out to do her business and then back inside half an hour later, I sat on the Cybertronian-sized sofa and Sideways sat next to me.

"Peach, I know you have to go to court next week to testify against those morons who were cyber bullying Ashley and trespassed onto NEST base." He said. "I don't know if they'll want us to testify in this case at some point later on but we can't worry too much. You have to take it one day at a time."

"I know." I said sadly.

We hugged each other, and then I went into our quarters, my mech not far behind me. He started giving me a massage so that I could calm down before we recharged.

"Thanks." I said.

When we were finally recharging, I had a nightmare a few hours into it. In it, I had found a child's body in a river when swimming and was hearing voices telling me "You can't save everybody. You won't make a good parent."

No, that can't be, I thought, getting scared. I awoke and it seemed that Sideways had sensed everything as he began comforting me. He got me another energon cube.

"I just wish I didn't have all these doubts now of all times." I muttered after finishing the whole thing…

The next day was a bit stressful; Optimus had called to ensure that I was okay. After that, I rested most of the day. Thankfully Barricade was allowed to come and help Sideways with taking care of the kids and stuff around the house and according to my sparkmate's report, did a good job of it.

"Peaches, I did this because I owe you for giving me a chance." Barricade commented as he came in with an energon cube for me.

"You don't owe me anything." I told him. "And you don't want to mess with me right now."

"I already know that you're carrying a sparkling." He said as I took the cube from him and started drinking it. "If anything, you and Sideways are better parents than most humans."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." I yawned again.

Thursday night I had trouble resting and at about 1:00 a.m. Friday morning, we had to call Optimus and Ratchet. Sideways stayed with the kids while I rode in Optimus Prime's trailer to NEST base so that Ratchet could remove the new spark and put it in a protoform body so that the sparkling could finish forming and according to Ratchet's best guess, said sparkling would be ready to go home by Halloween, possibly the day before.

Said procedure was soon completed after we had gotten there and all I had to do now was wait a few hours for Sideways to bring the kids in for their checkups then the rest of our family would go home. Optimus had known I'd need a place to recharge until then so I was led to my family's old quarters, which were the way we had left them when moving out several months ago just in case we had to come back for any reason for more than a day.

"Thanks Optimus." I said. I had one less thing to worry about as I knew the sparkling was in good hands hence my temporary relief.

"Take it easy Peaches; you have been through a lot this week." My leader said gently.

I wasn't sure how long I recharged but I did get to share a dream with Optimus after not doing so for so long.

(Switch to Optimus Prime's POV, 3rd person)

Peaches had shown him the nightmare she had had on Tuesday and Wednesday night and was now sobbing.

"Peaches, you are a very good parent." Optimus Prime reassured her.

"We both think so." Someone else said.

The Pretender turned around; it was Elita One who was walking through the sand towards where her sparkmate was with the femme who called them her adopted parents. "Elita, I-I have a bond with you too now?"

"Indeed you do Peaches." Elita replied smiling.

The orange and red Pretender smiled and gave her a hug, then hugged Optimus. "Is Sideways going to be here soon?"

"He will be here in a few hours." the Autobot leader replied.

Peaches sighed with relief and until it was time for her to return to reality, just enjoyed being with her parental figures.


	5. Chapter 5

Our continuing story chapter

Author's note: Sorry about this being so dang short but I got lazy. I'll try to make the next chapter longer.

(Sideways' POV)

I was getting closer to the base and closer to Peaches; I arrived and let the kids get out. It was now 10:00 in the morning, and time for me to wake my femme up. I left the kids with Elita and then went into the room where we had once slept while living on base to find her there, peacefully dreaming and calling my name softly. "Sideways come here."

I walked over to her and said "Peaches, wake up. I'm here now."

She did so and then immediately hugged me tightly and didn't let go for a couple of seconds. "You've just got to see our 2nd son!"

I would have jumped up and down with excitement at finding out the "gender" of our sparkling but that was out of the question. Instead, I helped Peaches get off the berth and we walked to the nursery that Ratchet had set up for the protoforms found in Chicago.

"It won't be until he's ready to go home with you that I'll be able to tell which of you he gets more traits from." The medic explained to us. "First Aid and I are taking turns with monitoring him and making sure that he's in good health."

I sighed with relief as did Peaches and we both looked at our sparkling and smiled. "Well Peach, what do you think?" I asked.

"I think we both did a good job when it came to his creation." She replied.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." I commented.

Aaron, Abby and Crystal were then given their checkups; thankfully they were healthy too.

When I was ready to return the rest of my family home, I transformed into vehicle mode and opened the doors. Peaches then transformed into her human mode and put Abby in her carseat while Aaron put Crystal in hers and then climbed into the seat between his sisters. Thankfully, he wasn't too squished in there but he would still have to wait a while before sitting in the front passenger's seat. For now, I just turned on my holoform and once Peaches checked their seatbelts, she climbed into the front seat and put hers on.

"Ready to head for home?" I asked.

"Yes!" everyone replied.

After we had arrived home, Peaches got everyone out and I transformed into robot mode. My sparkmate did the same and we all went to play with Snowball before it got dark in 2 hours. It wasn't too cold outside yet so I knew Aaron and Abby would be fine.

I felt Peaches embrace me and turned around to return the gesture. "Don't worry about Tyler too much; I think if we give him a chance he might warm up to the idea of being in our family if we're patient when it comes to breaking down his walls." I said through the comlink.

"I know love; I just don't know if we're the right ones to take care of him permanently. I-" She started to say.

I put on of my fingers to her mouth. "Hush my Peach Ice Cream" I whispered quietly,almost seductively, and then started kissing her.

"Mommy's kissing Daddy!" Crystal shouted out loud.

"Yuck! I hate mushy stuff!" Aaron commented.

"It not yucky." Abby crossed her arms and glared at her older brother.

Peaches and I turned around towards our 3 oldest children and sparkling and laughed at their antics.

"You won't think it's gross when you're old enough to have a girlfriend." I said to my oldest son. "You just wait and see."

When everyone was inside, Peaches put on a Disney movie for all of us to watch and Snowball was let in so that she could join us. As of right now, said dog was sitting by Aaron on the floor. Every kid deserves to have a chance to be part of a family like this including Tyler, I thought to myself, and Peaches and I will give him that chance and teach him to trust others just as Peaches had to be taught to do so...


	6. Chapter 6

Our continuing story chapter 6

(Peaches' POV)

When the movie was over, we gave Crystal and Abby their baths and then let Aaron take one. Soon the kids were dried off and asleep and I decided to take a shower as a human and have a little bit of fun doing so.

"Sideways, can you bring your holoform over here please?" I called from the bathroom.

He did so and then said "I think I know what you want me to do."

I shut the bathroom door behind us and then replied "Well, did you ever wonder about some of the things 2 humans in a romantic relationship do with each other?"

"Yes." Sideways replied, grinning mischievously.

I think we were in there for about 10-15 minutes having too much fun with each other to put it as cleanly as possible. We got out then I dried off and got dressed in PJs while Sideways turned off his holoform. I walked out of the bathroom then transformed into robot mode. "So, what did you think of that?" I asked, still not believing we had actually done what we did.

"I enjoyed it as much as you did." Sideways reassured me and then said "No matter which form you're in, no matter whether you have anything on or not, you're beautiful inside and out."

"Thanks my turncoat mech." I told him, feeling like melting into a puddle of goo. "Personally, I don't want to do something like that again, at least not for a long time. I always prefer the nonphysical things that come with a relationship."

My sparkmate nodded his understanding and carried me bridal style to our quarters and laid me down on the berth. He then shut the door and climbed in next to me, smiling and pulling the blanket over both of us. I laid my head on his chest and said "I hope our weekend will go well, same thing with Monday."

"Don't worry about Monday until we get to it; I'm sure Tyler's arrival and first day here will go well." Sideways shushed me and then kissed me, well French kissed me. Needless to say it was a bit weird not doing it the "American way" for lack of a better term but I still enjoyed it. We then fell into recharge with me unaware of what Sideways had planned for tomorrow…

When I awoke, it was about 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and Sideways was calling me to come to the main room. I got up and did so and to my surprise saw that there was a note on the sofa. I picked it up and read it.

_Hey you two,_

_I decided to take all 3 kids and Snowball out for the day so that you two could just enjoy each other's company without having to worry about them seeing you doing NC-17 stuff accidentally in case you do any of those things if you know what I mean. I hope you enjoy this day together. Aaron, Abby, Crystal and Snowball will be back by 7:00 p.m._

_-Ashley_

I looked at Sideways, shocked and a bit apprehensive at the idea of several hours together. "Were you in on this?" I asked.

"To tell you the truth yes." He answered, handing me an energon cube.

"Oh, I don't know what we should do." I was trying to think of some of those things but coming up blank.

"Let's eat and do the chores first." Sideways patted my shoulder making me shudder at his touch then said "We can do whatever as long as we remember that when it gets closer to when the kids get home, it has to something they can see."

I drank my energon cube, my sparkmate doing the same thing, then we did some cleaning and soon we were back in the main room. He turned on some music and I recognized the song; it was "Can I have this dance?" from High School Musical 3.

"May I have this dance?" Sideways asked as he walked over to the sofa and offered his hand to me.

"Of course love." I replied, standing up and taking his hand.

We moved to the middle of the room and began dancing in a style similar to how Cinderella was dancing with the Prince in the Disney movie version of the story. All too soon the song switched to one of my lifelong favorites that my human parents had listened to every year on their anniversary since the year it came out until the day when they passed on to the afterlife.

**I swear by the moon and the stars in the skies and I swear like the shadow that's by your side**

**I see the questions in your eyes, I**** know what's weighing on your mind  
><strong>**You can be sure I know my heart**

**'Cause I'll stand beside you through the years**  
><strong>You'll only cry those happy tears<strong>  
><strong>And though I make mistakes<strong>  
><strong>I'll never break your heart<strong>

**And I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky**  
><strong>I'll be there<strong>  
><strong>I swear like a shadow that's by your side<strong>  
><strong>I'll be there<strong>

**For better or worse, till death do us part**  
><strong>I'll love you with every beat of my heart<strong>  
><strong>And I swear<strong>

**I'll give you everything I can**  
><strong>I'll build your dreams with these two hands<strong>  
><strong>We'll hang some memories on the walls<strong>

**And when just the two of us are there  
>you won't have to ask if I still care<br>'Cause as the time turns the page, my love won't age at all**

I started crying knowing that the whole thing described us while the chorus played 2 more times. When the song ended, Sideways turned the music off and asked "Are you okay?"

"Yes; I just miss when my parents would always play that song since it was their favorite." I told him. "I love the song more than any other one that I've heard."

Sideways smiled, seemingly satisfied with my answer. He then asked "Do you want to go for a drive?"

"Of course; I'd love to get out of the house for a while." I answered, thrilled at the idea. I knew I was going to enjoy the rest of this day.

After the drive was over, we returned to our home and ate lunch, then began watching the first live action Spiderman movie. I don't know why we both liked superhero movies, mostly ones based off of the Marvel Comics characters, but we were enjoying said movie and cuddling each other on the sofa.

"Sideways?" I asked.

"Yes my Peach Ice Cream?"

"I love you." I told him. "I haven't told you that in a while and it's about time I did."

"I love you too." He replied, truly meaning it. "We will make it through whatever comes our way."

After the movie, there was more "special alone time" for us then we recharged until we heard the doorbell ring. Ashley had brought the kids back.

I got up first, making sure that my armor was covering everything, and then answered the door.

"We're back." Aaron said.

"I can see that." I replied, picking up Abby and Crystal. I then turned to Ashley. "Thanks for watching them."

"No problem." She said smiling. "I've got to get back home; I've got to call my little sister to assure her that I'm okay."

"Bye!" Crystal waved to our human friend as she got back into her car and drove out of site.

I closed the front door then put the girls down and went to prepare dinner for them and their brother. "All of you be quiet; your father's sleeping."

"Not for long" Sideways walked into the room as he said this and then hugged the kids as I finished preparing spaghetti and meatballs for Aaron and Abby and got energon cubes for myself, Crystal and my sparkmate. I'm not sure how but Crystal did find out how to turn back into her robot mode doing so just then. At least she'd be able to control when she transformed someday.

We ate dinner together as a family, and then Aaron got Sideways to go to his room and read a bedtime story while I put on a Barney and Friends video for the girls, specifically _Barney's Imagination Island_, one of the videos I had watched when I was younger. While I did think the show was annoying, I could not help but get nostalgic about the pre-2000 episodes which I had watched from when I was a toddler to the time I turned 5. Crystal fell asleep by the end of the video but Abby was still somewhat awake.

"Mommy, sing Barney song." My human daughter insisted.

"Which one do you want me to sing?" I asked.

"Special one" Abby said.

Knowing that she was talking about the song from the show that was about everyone being special, I began softly singing it to her to get her to go to sleep but when that didn't work I started singing "It's good to be home" from the end of the video she had just watched. Personally I thought that particular song was not as annoying as the other Barney songs I had liked as a young child as I always got a warm and fuzzy feeling whenever I listened to it; I had heard it the first time when I was about 4 and I had come home after spending the weekend with my cousins. I told my mom "I love being home with you" and she and my dad told me the same thing.

When Abby had fallen asleep, I had gotten close to the end of the song and was surprised to hear Sideways singing the last two lines with me when he walked into the room.

"I thought you absolutely disliked that show and everything to do with it." I whispered.

"Well, the last line of that song' is something I think is true about everyone in this family." He replied, smiling sweetly and picking up Crystal. "All of you are so special to me."

We put the girls in their beds and I made sure the video was rewound. I'm pretty sure that I'm one of very few people who still has a VCR in addition to a Blu-Ray player and a DVD player but that didn't matter. I soon found myself cuddling with Sideways on our berth and feeling once again like nothing could go wrong…


	7. Chapter 7

Our continuing story chapter 7

The rest of the weekend had gone well for both of them. Sideways and Peaches had cleaned the house and spent time with the kids and today was the day that Tyler was supposed to arriving. He would only be staying with them until after New Year's but neither the Pretender nor the ex-Decepticon seemed to mind that. They were determined to show him that they cared and that one's past did not have to affect their future.

Tyler was well "iffy" about having siblings, even if it was temporary, as he had never had them before. On the other hand, he admitted that he was thankful to the 2 Cybertronians who would be his guardians albeit reluctantly.

"No need to thank us." Sideways replied, not sure he would have the patience for dealing with the older boy. "Aaron, please show him to his room and then bring him back here so that he can eat something."

Aaron immediately did as he was told and Peaches sighed. "Well, this did go better than I thought it would." She said.

"Remember we need to be patient with him, even though it's going to be hard for me" Sideways replied.

"I thought you had learned a thing or 2 about patience a long time ago!" Peaches pretended to scold him.

"Keep this in mind my femme; you can take me out of the Decepticon ranks and convince me to be a neutral, but you can't take the not as active Decepticon programming out of me, which does include the occasional lack of patience." He whispered in her audio receptor.

The Pretender got up and went to cook dinner for the humans under hers and her sparkmate's care; the latter went to get an energon cube for her and Crystal as well as himself. When the meal was over, Tyler was the one who cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher. He then simply went to the room he would be staying in, leaving the rest of the family disappointed that they had not gotten to actually thank him for his guesture.

Peaches sighed sadly and said out loud "This is going to be harder than I thought it would be."

(Sometime later, Sideways' POV)

When the other kids were asleep, I reminded Peaches. "Remember, we've got only about 6 weeks until we bring our family's newest arrival home."

"I know; I'm just worried about you changing your alt mode again." she told me a bit worried.

I had in fact changed my alternate mode from an Audi R8 to a sedan that sat 4-5 people when we had first adopted Abby but it would be a pain in the rear to explain why Aaron was in the front seat when he was not supposed to be sitting up there until he was 12 during the times that my holoform would be turned off. Thus I began searching the Internet for something more suitable to transporting 2 humans, 2 sparklings, one or two other passengers and my sparkmate when she was in her alternate mode wherever we needed to be and not have to worry about the holoform taking up room. I did not find anything that I liked though; I would have to search again tomorrow.

For now, Peaches and I went into our own quarters and recharged, still determined to get Tyler to be more open to us.

2 days later, we thought it was a miracle. Tyler was playing nicely with Abby and Crystal and both girls had thrown their arms around the boy to hug him. Aaron couldn't help but smile as much as my femme and I were when the older boy didn't seem to mind this. Perhaps he understood that they were younger and had no idea of the horrors that he had been through or maybe he just didn't know how to react. When he saw the rest of us looking at him, Tyler quickly ran out to the backyard and sat in the sandpile by himself.

"Why'd he do that?" Crystal asked, really confused.

"I don't know, but I wish I did." Peaches replied, not sure of what she was going to do about him. To tell the truth, I wasn't sure what I would do about that boy either; I had not known the horrors he had been through but I did know what it was like to not know how to handle something different than what one was used to whether it was good or bad. Perhaps Tyler needed more time to get used to this change and the fact that he wasn't being hurt for no reason...


	8. Chapter 8

Our continuing story chapter 8

(Sideways' POV)

When everyone else was in recharge, Peaches and I finally got ourselves ready to also do so although she still had Tyler on her mind. She asked me how I knew that she was thinking about our foster son.

"My femme, we're bonded. There's little if anything you can hide from me." I whispered in her audio receptor.

"I know." She whispered back. "It's just that…"

I interrupted her by picking her up and laying her on the berth and then climbing onto it next to her. "Peaches, shush." I said, wrapping my arms around her. "It will work out and even if it doesn't, I am here to help you with anything you need help with."

"I know Sideways." Peaches replied, starting to nuzzle me. "I just want to cuddle you my turncoat mech."

I started cuddling my sparkmate and holding her close. "As do I my love." I replied, nuzzling her in return.

Needless to say we rested well; Thursday morning came and the boys went to school. Peaches then transformed into her human form and went to walk Snowball while I took the girls to the backyard so that they could play in the sandbox. My femme would return in about 15 minutes from what I understood but just before she did I heard the familiar sound of a certain truck pulling up to the house.

Crystal asked "Prime here?"

"Let's go see if it is Optimus." I replied, picking her and Abby up in my arms and walking out of the backyard to the front of our home.

Optimus transformed into his robot mode and I said "Greetings Optimus."

"Greetings to you as well Sideways." He replied. "I am very sorry I did not call beforehand but there is something that you and Peaches need to hear and I thought it would be best to tell you in person."

"Peaches should be back from walking Snowball in about 5 minutes." I said. "Please come in."

(Switch to Optimus Prime's POV)

When we were inside, Sideways put both his sparkling and his human daughter on the floor to play then asked "Would you like any energon? We only have low grade and mid-grade since Peaches isn't old enough to drink in either human years or Cybertronian years and does not want high grade around our kids."

"Low grade please" I replied.

He went to get it and Abby and Crystal both said "Up please?"

I chuckled and then lifted them up. I put them on my lap after sitting down on the sofa and Peaches soon came in with Snowball.

"Hi Optimus" Peaches said as she transformed into her robot mode.

"Greetings to you as well Peaches." I said to her. It would be hard to tell them what was happening but they needed to be warned…

(Peaches POV)

I could not believe that there had still been Decepticons out in space that had arrived on Earth to avenge their leader's death which had happened several months ago. Seeing as I had witnessed this, it was no surprise but I was still worried. If they convinced Tyler or Aaron to go on their side or worse, if any of my kids were killed-I didn't want to think about it. Sideways sent some comfort over our bond and Optimus Prime continued with what he was telling us.

"I know that both of you will do whatever you must to protect your children so I should not have to tell you to keep an eye on them." My leader told us.

"And don't engage the enemy without backup, correct?" I finished.

"Indeed that is correct Peaches." He affirmed. "Your youngest sparkling is still developing normally according to Ratchet and First Aid."

I sighed with relief; at least that was some good news. "Optimus, I wanted to ask you something else."

"And what is that?" he wanted to know.

"One of these days if you have time, could we have some father-daughter time together?" I wasn't sure why I was nervous while asking this but I did want to know.

"I will see if we both can find time for that.' Optimus Prime replied smiling. "For now, I have to leave and 2 certain femmes need a nap."

Abby and Crystal had fallen asleep/into recharge while sitting on my leader's lap so Sideways picked them both up and took them to their rooms. I took the empty energon cube from Optimus when he had finished it and put it to be washed out later.

"Too bad the boys aren't home yet; I would have liked Tyler to meet you.' I said sadly.

"It is all right Peaches; I am sure he will get to meet the rest of the Autobots one day." Prime replied reassuring me by putting a hand on my shoulder.

Optimus bid Sideways and I good bye and left then I washed out the empty energon cube and then put it aside to be used again at a later time. I then transformed into human mode and swept through the warehouse with a broom while Sideways used his human holoform to clean the bathroom. Soon enough the chores were finished and the boys were home. We ate dinner together as usual; this time, Tyler and Aaron were talking with each other about their favorite cartoons afterwards and then both did their homework after starting another load of dishes in the dishwasher. I played with Abby and Crystal in the living room while Sideways went to clean the washracks and our quarters. Snowball was let in too and eating her own food in another corner of the living room.

Through all of this, I had to wonder when Tyler would be comfortable with speaking to Sideways and I if he ever wanted to talk to us. I then remembered how patient Optimus was when helping to train me to become an Autobot and thought, if he could let me get used to a different environment in my own time then I could let the oldest human boy in my care do the same. Just as Sideways had said earlier, we needed a lot of patience. Still, it was nice to see him at least interacting with Aaron, even if it wasn't very much…

A few days went by and it was on the next Tuesday when it had happened; Sideways and I had both thought the gate to the backyard was locked but Crystal had chased Snowball and soon I had heard screaming and crying. I ran outside, not knowing what to expect.

(Sideways POV)

"What happened here?" I wanted to know when I saw what had happened; I had brought Abby out with me.

"Doggy hurt!" Crystal was crying as she said this. She turned into her human form after saying this.

Snowball had been hit by a car; she did not look too terribly injured but by all accounts it should have been a lot worse. I transformed into what I had finally chosen as my new vehicle mode, the 2012 Chrysler Town and Country mini-van, and Peaches got both girls in the car and lifted Snowball onto the passenger's seat. She then got in and said "Sides, get us to the nearest veterinary hospital now!"

I started driving us in that direction, not knowing what to think of the whole thing but hoping for the best.


	9. Chapter 9

Our continuing story chapter 9

(Sideways' POV)

Once Snowball got the medical treatment that she needed, we knew she was all right at least for now. We had been told that she was not out of the woods yet but that the vet staff would keep an eye on her throughout the night. Peaches gave them her cell phone number to contact us if anything changed and we soon went to see if the boys had come home yet as it was just about the time that they would normally get off the bus.

It turned out that they had hence we had nothing to worry about when it came to their safety. Once Tyler had taken Abby and Crystal inside with Aaron not too far behind him, I let my sparkmate get out of my vehicle mode, then transformed into robot mode, locked the gate to the backyard and double checked to be sure that it was in fact locked. Peaches had gone in and began comforting the girls and explaining to the boys what had happened. I soon came in as well to help with that as well as cook dinner. Knowing that Snowball was okay was somewhat of a relief to everyone, Tyler especially. I had noticed it more than my sparkmate had but that boy loved that dog the most more or less and spent a lot more time with her than with us. At least we'd know more about how she was doing in the morning…

(Peaches' POV)

The next morning came and the boys were going to school. Sideways went out to bring Snowball back home while I played outside with Abby and Crystal. I heard Crystal say "Mommy's a hero!" and I had to admit that I thought she was wrong. Even though my beloved dog was okay I just couldn't help but think about what would have happened if it had been much worse. What if the 'cons take my kids again, what about my newest sparkling, I thought getting even more worried about the possibilities and imagining a horrible outcome

(Daydream sequence)

Someone who looked like Optimus but instead was purple and black had my children in his grasp and they were tied to the top of a tree. The look-alike to my leader began laughing evilly as I tried to fight him.

"Do you think you can beat me Pretender?" he asked mockingly.

"You leave my sparklings out of this, Nemesis!" I had been knocked over and was being held down. I tried to bite the evil doppelganger but to no avail. I didn't even know how I knew his name but it did not seem to matter. He had tried to rip my armor off but wasn't quite successful…

(Back in the real world)

I was shaking all over as Sideways snapped me out of my little "vision" and was nearly startled.

"Snowball's inside on a blanket; her injury should be healed in about 2 weeks."

"Thank goodness." I muttered as I followed him and the girls inside.

The rest of the afternoon I acted okay for the kids' sake especially when Tyler and Aaron got home. I counted the days again; it was now the first week of October which meant only 3 weeks until Sideways and I could finally see our sparkling. I had to make it through all of this, I just had to.

That evening, I saw one of my fellow Autobots pull up; thankfully, it was just Optimus himself. I could tell because of the blue and red and that he meant no harm.

"Optimus what" I started to say.

"It's all right; I said he could spend some father-daughter time with you tonight." Sideways explained to me reassuringly as he came out and Optimus opened the door for me.

I transformed into my human form and greeted him before getting into the truck cab.

"Hello Peaches." He said, seemingly knowing that I wasn't as okay as I tried to make myself sound.

"Um, can we go to McDonald's first?" I asked. I was really hungry and desperately craving junk food hoping it would make me feel better not that Ratchet would be pleased if he found out I was eating that kind of stuff.

"Yes" Optimus Prime replied "but I would like to have a spark to spark talk with you when you are done eating."

I should have seen the catch coming when he unexpectedly said yes. We would only be out for about 3 hours at the most as had been arranged earlier without my knowledge and he figured that would be enough time to be able to talk with me. Optimus began driving us away after I had said good night to my mixed family. I was not looking forward to telling him about all of my fears; why could he not see that I could handle stuff myself and that I was technically capable of doing so? I had witnessed the end of a war and had fought to keep everyone of both species safe, I had stopped crying when hearing horrible stories on the news at least when others were in the room watching it with me and I had been being strong for Tyler's sake to try to make him think our family was pretty darn close to perfect even if it was an unusual family…

Author's note: I know it's extremely short but I didn't want to make it too long. I have no idea when the next chapter will be up. Also, I have made Peaches a Facebook page (one where you just "like" a page, not "add as a friend") I will put the link in my profile soon. :)


	10. Chapter 10

Our continuing story chapter 10

When we stopped at McDonald's, Optimus parked in the parking lot and used his human holoform to follow me inside, mostly as a way of keeping random human guys from attacking me while I was in my current form. Getting assaulted or rather nearly having that happen was the reason why I was often reluctant to become intimate with Sideways hence the mostly talking to each other after the kids went to bed...

(Flashback, early months of 2010, about March)

I had only been on base for a couple of days at this point. I was finished showering and dressed in clean clothes when someone, I guess a random new human recruit to NEST, thought it was a good idea to make some sexist remarks and attempt to rape me. As he found out, it wasn't.

I heard big footsteps and realizing that it was Optimus Prime who had come to my rescue. My would be attacker, who had been attempting to remove my clothing, immediately stopped doing so and wet his pants when the Autobot leader growled "And what do you think you're doing?"

A couple of minutes later, that guy was in Major Lennox's office with both him and Galloway glaring as he attempted to justify what he had been attempting. "She isn't really human and it wouldn't have left any lasting damage!" had been just one of the arguments.

"You are an idiot." Galloway replied, barely controlling his temper and clearly not buying that excuse. "I don't care which species she is, you do not do anything to a woman without her consent!"

I had wanted to huddle in a corner but knowing that I couldn't appear weak I kept a glare on my own face as my would be attacker was officially "fired" as he had been known to engage in that kind of behavior before and was led to a plane to get him off the island. Before they left, I thanked Galloway for standing up for me.

"Don't mention it again kid." he had simply replied as he left the office.

Optimus had walked up to me and asked if I wanted to talk about it

"He didn't actually injure me because you interrupted him-I don't know if I can talk about it." I said, still having fear and being completely traumatized by the experience.

I hadn't actually talked to my leader until much later and it had been extremely hard...

(End flashback)

Of course, this wasn't what I was worried about at the present time; instead, I had to get my food, get some for Optimus since he had mentioned that Ratchet had upgraded the holoforms to be able to eat and drink things that humans would normally have and then try to find a way to tell my leader and adopted father about how stressed out I was. I was able to walk right up to the counter since there was no line and ordered my food; Optimus only wanted something to drink so I ordered Hi-C lemonade for him while getting myself a Quarter Pounder with cheese, large fries and a large Coca-Cola.

I found a table and Optimus' holoform followed me once we had gotten the food and drinks and I set them down on the table. "Too bad they don't have Pepsi instead." I muttered to myself. I then began to eat the Quarter Pounder while Optimus sipped a bit of the lemonade; he didn't tell me until much later whether he liked it or not.

"Are you sure you do not want a different drink?" Optimus Prime asked.

"No thanks; I'm fine with Coca-Cola. It doesn't get me as hyped up for no reason when I drink it." I replied.

"I see." he replied; I coudl tell over our bond that he was thinking of the New Year's Eve I had drank too much Pepsi and had sung a song about the new year somewhat off key. Needless to say I blushed red and Prime simply chuckled.

When we were finally done with the main meal, I got myself a hot fudge sundae and ate that then went to use the bathroom. When I was done I walked baack to where Optimus had been parked, his holoform not too far behind me and then we began driving down the road again.

"Peaches, I know there is something on your mind. Are you all right?" he asked after turning the holoform off.

"Well, it's a long story but I may as well get it off my chest." I replied sighing.

I told him of my nightmarish daydream and all of my worries about the kids' safety and the idea of Decepticons still being out there. "The good news is, Tyler's slowly but surely letting his emotional walls break. I know it will take time for him to have complete trust of us and that I can be patient about I suppose." I finished it with that.

Optimus didn't say anything; instead he pulled over into a field, motioned for me to get out of his truck cab, then he transformed into his bi-pedal form and simply lifted me up and held me against his chest.

"Thanks for allowing me to act like a kid again after getting all of that out of my system." I said through tears.

"You are very welcome Peaches but I do not consider crying childish." he replied in a reasurring tone of voice. "Perhaps Sideways may be able to help you with some of these things."

"you're probably right; I'll have to sit down and talk to him after the kids are asleep though." I sighed. "And to think that we all thought the war was over."

He nooded in agreement then after a few minutes, he transformed into his truck form again and I got into the bed in the back of the cab and decided to settle down and go to sleep. "At least I had one piece of good news to tell you." I said yawning.

Optimus Prime chuckled and replied "I certainly hope that Tyler continues to do well in his new home."

"I know he will but what I don't know is if I'll end up adopting him though." I began to get worried again.

"It is best that you do not think about that right now; try to clear your mind and recharge, I will make sure you return to your home safely and awaken you when we get there. Also try to get some rest after you get there." my leader reassured me and kind of ordered me at the same time, making me feel as though everything would be great. I wondered if having a voice that everyone would listen to is one of the requirements to being a Prime but pushed that thought aside since that wasn't important.

"Thanks." i went to sleep, knowing that I was safe and would soon be back in the arms of the one I love. I knew Sideways would at least attempt to understand and even if he didn't, he would at least listen and that was what mattered to me right now. If Nemesis Prime really does exist, I thought, I won't let him hurt anyone but I'll worry about that when and if that happens...

Author's note: sorry this took so long to post! I hope you enjoyed this chapter though. :) Also, I have made a facebook page for Peaches; don't remember if I've said that before but here is the link (just take out the spaces and replace the word "dot" with an actual dot and "slash" with an actual back slash): www Dot facebook Dot com slash AutobotPeaches


	11. Chapter 11

Our continuing story chapter 11

(Sideways' POV)

Peaches finally arrived home to find Aaron and Tyler sleeping on me as I had been chasing them all over the place trying to get them to go to bed so that they could get up for school in the morning. Abby and Crystal on the other hand were slightly better behaved though not by much. I had put them in their rooms long ago.

"Hello love." she said, smiling despite being tired.

"I'll put the boys in their rooms." I replied reassuringly as I got up and did so. Once I did, I returned to the living room and I asked "Did talking with Optimus help any?"

"It did; I'd rather not give all of the details though." Peaches sighed. "Just being so worried about the kids is taking a lot out of me."

"My Peach Ice Cream, don't forget that I have the right to worry about them just as much you do." I stated, brining her closer to me and giving her a hug. "We will get through all of this."

I wasn't sure if she believed that I would be right as we both settled down into recharge but I really did want to believe what I had just said...

A few days later, it happened. I had gone to the store with Aaron and Abby and Tyler and Crystal were home with Peaches. I had just been about to drive home when I flet a sudden surge of pain running through me; Peaches was in danger.

"Help please! Tyler's been kidnapped!" was her comlink message.

I immediately raced home, probably going about 30 miles over the speed limit, filled completely with worry...

I returned to find the worst case scenario; Snowball was whining, Crystal was alone and crying out and leaking energon from her left arm and Peaches and Tyler were both nowhere to be seen. I sent Aaron to get a towel to wrap around his sister's arm while I held Abby close to me while calling the other Autobots. Thankfully, they were on their way already, as Optimus had sensed Peaches being in danger and the others had gotten the same message my sparkmate had sent me.

When they arrived, Ratchet immediate picked up Crystal then transformed around her and hooked up a tube of energon to her arm using his human holoform then lifted Snowball up into the back of himself too gently, knowing that we could not leave the dog alone with no food or water even if this situation was very urgent. Prowl took Abby and Aaron with him in his alt mode and we left for the base while a few other humans and Autobots began investigating the crime scene. I couldn't imagine just what might have been happening to Peaches and am glad that at the time, I was unaware of what exactly she had been subjected to...

Author's note: sorry for the shortness, I'm too lazy to write more. I will make the next chapter a bit longer.


	12. Chapter 12

Our continuing story chapter 12

(Peaches' POV)

I couldn't stand it; I had fallen behind the 'cons who had taken Tyler and I had been injured from gunfire and trying to hit whichever one was not holding my foster son at the moment. "Damn you 'Cons!" I shouted out, trying not to let the pain I was feeling carry over into my voice.

I collapsed onto the ground just as I saw Optimus Prime drive up to me. He transformed, leaving his trailer sitting there and gently picked me up.

"We will find Tyler, Peaches." He said reassuringly. "Crystal, Abigail, Aaron, Sideways and Snowball are fine."

I was gently put into the trailer, just as it had to be done before and I tried my best to keep myself still while Optimus drove back to base and sent out Sideswipe and Sunstreaker to try to track where Tyler was. I knew they could save my oldest son. Yes, Sideways and I wanted to adopt Tyler ASAP after he was found. And he better be safe, or there's going to be the Pit to pay…

(Switch to Tyler's POV)

He couldn't give up now; there had to be a way out of this. Tyler couldn't believe that anyone would want to kidnap someone like him considering the home life he had grown up with. Still, it did occur to him that Peaches and Sideways did care; the Autobot Pretender had told him to run and he had, no questions asked. He wanted to get out of there, he wanted them to be his adopted family and not just his foster family and he wanted to tell them the second thing. I'll never get to if I can't get out of here, he thought sadly.

Then the 8 year old boy saw something; it was a blue motorcycle with what seemed to be a holographic driver; he then caught a brief glimpse of an Autobot symbol. Was he or she here to rescue him? He really hoped the answer was yes.

(no particular person's POV)

Optimus was surprised when he heard Chromia's comlink message "Optimus, i've found the boy but I need help rescuing him."

"I would be careful; it could be a trap. I will take several Autobots with me to assist you and send Sideswipe and Sunstreaker the coordinates; until then, stay hidden." the Autobot leader ordered.

"Understood sir." the blue femme replied before terminating the connection.

Optimus looked down to see Abby toddling into the room; the little almost 2 year old girl asked "Where Tyler?"

He sighed; she was too young to understand the serious of the situation but he would give the best explanation that he could. "He's someplace he does not want to be and I am going with several others to bring him back home."

"Yay!" Abby shouted excitedly.

"Optimus, I'll keep an eye on her while you're out." Ashley said a few minutes later as Arcee, Prowl and Mirage arrived at the hangar to leave with the Prime. "Sideways won't leave Crystal's or Peaches' sides and Aaron's asleep in the medbay on a cot. Snowball's there too."

"Thank you Ashley; we wil bring Tyler back to his family alive." Optimus said truly meaning it, as he gently put Abby on the floor near the human woman who had been Peaches' friend for quite some time.

Ashley quickly took Abby away to distract her while the Autobots who were leaving on a rescue mission did so, determined to make it successful...

Author's note: so sorry I was late with this. I got writer's block and was busy. At least I'm almost done with the whole story. :)


	13. Chapter 13

Our continuing story chapter 13

(Tyler's POV)

He was glad to be getting away from his captors but that did not mean Tyler wasn't worried about his foster family. Long ago,he would have never thought he would ever admit to liking them but things were different now. Sure, he had only been in his sort of new home for only a month but the human boy could say it was much, much better than where he came from even if it was unusual and not perfect. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard shots and he and his rescuer Chromia were saved by 2 other Autobots who had taken down both 'cons.

"Thanks you two." Chromia shouted.

"Don't mention it; Sunny and I have got this." the silver mech shouted. "We'll hold them off for you."

The blue femme didn't speak; she just simply continued speeding down the highway, trying to keep the human boy from falling off. Soon they reached a rendezvous point, and Elita One excorted them back to base.

"Thank Primus you found him." the femme commander said as they drove onto the D.C. base and then went into the hanger. Tyler hopped off Chromia and she and Elita then transformed into their robot modes.

Elita could see that the boy was scared but she gently approached him and said "There's no need to fear young one; your foster parents know us well and they are both in the medical bay if you wish to see them."

"Okay." Tyler was trying to hide his nervousness and not doing a very good job. 'What's your name again?"

"I'm Elita One and this is Chromia." Elita replied.

"Thanks for saving me Chromia." the human boy said, letting his nervousness go as he offered his hand, wanting to shake one of her fingers.

The blue femme let him do so and then said. "Don't mention it kid."

Soon Tyler was taken to the medical bay and Elita contacted Optimus to tell him that the boy was safe...

(Optimus Prime's POV)

The Decepticons had retreated and I drove back with the other Autobots who had helped me, trying to take in everything that had just happened. It seemed that Megatron had been rebuilt but was now being called "Galvatron" and there were several Decepticons still left on Earth who were regrouping with him. I had known better than to think that the peace would last but I still did not want to go to war again. I would do what was necessary though, no matter the cost.

When I arrived, I found that Peaches' younglings and Sideways were with her in the medical bay, with Tyler saying "Yes, I want to be adopted by both of you."

"All right; we'll do the paperwork then." Sideways told him reassuringly.

Peaches thent urend adn saw me. "Hello Optimus." she said.

"Hello Peaches." I told her in reply. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Now that my family's together again, yes." She replied. "I get to take my new sparkling home next week and Snowball's getting her cast taken off soon as well."

"Don't forget, you still need to rest for a few days before you're allowed to go home.." Ratchet informed her. "Crystal only needs to rest one more day."

"I know." the Pretender replied.

Sideways got up and said "Come on kids; I think Optimus needs to talk to your mother alone for a while."

"Aw man." Aaron was dissapointed as Tyler and Abigail were but they did listen to their father and left the medbay with him. Ratchet went to check on Peaches and Sideways' sparkling so that I could talk with her.

"Peaches, you do understand that you may have to leave your family and fight again now that we know that the Decepticons are regrouping." I told her.

"I am aware of that sir." Peaches replied, even I had told her not to call me "sir" all the time. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes though not just for you, my family or the other Autobots but for everyone on this planet; maybe not all humans are innocent but they still should be given a chance and saved from all of this."

I let myself smile for once, proud of her dedication and willingness to put others before herself but i could still sense that she feared being labeled a bad parent after recent events. "Do not worry about what the others say regarding what happened to Tyler and Crystal; you did not know that it would happen but at least it can be prevented from happening again."

"True; it could have been much worse." the orange femme replied then quickly changed the subject. "Optimus, if we ever get the time, I want to know can you help me write a book?"

"Why do you ask?" I said, intrigued that she'd want to do that.

"Well, I want everyone, human and Autobot alike to know my story and to know that we're not just machines; even though some know that already,the average human doesn't and it's going to be about how you inspired me to do my best and helped me with everything that I needed help with." She explained. "I don't want to do it just from my point of view."

"Indeed, I will help you with the writing if that's what you wish." i told her smiling. "We will have to find a good time to sit down and write it then; for now, you should rest."

Peaches smiled and settled down, reassured that even with what we had to deal with regarding the Decepticons regrouping, at least for now everything was fine and there was joy to be had very soon due to Tyler finally being officially made part of her family...


	14. Chapter 14

Our continuing story chapter 14

Peach3es was smiling as she sat down with her mixed family for Thanksgiving dinner; Sideways, herself, Crystal and Silver Dollar all had energon while Aaron, Tyler and Abby ate turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and apple pie as none of them liked pumpkin pie at all.

"I'm thankful for everyone who is in this family, that Snowball is now able to walk around, and for our food and shelter." The Pretender said.

Everyone else started saying what they were thankful for but they were interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Peaches got up and saw Optimus and Elita One. "Hello; come in please."

"I'm afraid we can't Peaches; we are tracking a Decepticon who was seen in the area and we came to warn you about him." Elita said. "As it is, we have to get back to that."

The orange femme was disappointed but understanding as she watched her adopted parental figures drive out of sight. "Oh come on, I need to sit down and write a book with Optimus sometime!" she muttered as she went back inside….

On Abby's birthday in January of the next year, Peaches finally got her wish; Optimus had come to visit the Autobot and human family just to check up on things but did have a bit of extra time.

"What should the acknowledgements read?" the Pretender asked.

"Perhaps you should list the names of those on NEST base who gave us permission to write this as well as those friends and family members you would like to thank." Optimus Prime replied smiling. "I will help with that.

Peaches then wrote "I would like to thank NEST personnel for their assistance, my children, my sparkmate Sideways, Director Charlotte Mearing, and my adopted human family as well as Optimus Prime; without them, my life story wouldn't have turned out the way it did."

Optimus Prime's dedication was a bit shorter: "Thanks to all Autobots and humans who have helped protect Earth and thank you to Peaches, who insisted this story be told to everyone."

"This is going to be a long book and we're not going to be able to write it in a couple of hours." Peaches sighed.

The Autobot leader chuckled a bit. "That may be but I think it will be worth it."

It soon turned out that Optimus was right; although the book was not the number 1 bestseller, it was still popular nonetheless and had found an audience among those who knew about the Autobots but did not know them personally. Peaches wasn't planning on writing a sequel; that could wait until later. Much later, since who knew what else she would have to cover when writing anything about her life besides what she had already written…


End file.
